DIY Carriage lighting

[Slawman]

Hi All, Thought I would share my latest DIY adventure into retrofitting my carriages with lighting.

I didn't have an appetite for the pre-made stuff, mainly due to the cost. Sooooo:

I bought 20 of these (warm white):

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5050-SMD-LED-Strip-Module-Light-Camping-Boat-Caravan-Decor-DC-12V-Waterproof/142087545342?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&var=441177829450&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

10 of these:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/PIKO-36167-G-SCALE-30mm-Ball-Bearing-Mtl-Power-Pickup-Whls-2-12-cbls-2TrmBlks/221987642000?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

and 10 of these:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/152655088507?ul_noapp=true


So for about AUD 30 per car I have some great, dim-able LED lighting in 10 of my carriages.

At 25 per axle the pickups are by far the most expensive bit and I don't want to skimp on those.

I cant pick the difference between this and the AUD 90 brand name strip I installed last year.

Next step is to start lighting up my buildings...

 

[James Day]

That is a very neat soloution. I like the use of off the shelf components too. I am guessing you must be DCC, so the 24v AC supply is constant?

Those diode strips are agreat and give a great level of light when the voltage is high enough and are SO much better than the LGB lighting kits!

My thing is Analogue and Automated, so the constant voltage on the rail is usually less than half what you have. Last year I spent a while trying those strips with some home made regulators, but found that the light level tended to fall off dramaticly if the voltage was too low..

i note that there are lower voltage strips available now, so I must find the time to experiment with those!

James

 

[Slawman]

Hi James,

Yes I am running DCC. Perhaps try one of these:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/5-Piece...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

I am running a separate 12v power supply to light my buildings to will use a step-up or step-down depending on how i light each building.

For a lower voltage I can recommend these:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-5pcs-...var=452759162083&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

I also have some of these and they are excellent with some double sided tape. You just need to be OK with soldering them up.